Hydraulic transmitter mechanism



Oct. 28, 1952 N. c. JANNSEN 2,615,305

HYDRAULIC TRANSMITTER MECHANISM Filed Dec. 25, 1946 2 sums-swam 1 IN V EN TOR.

EWMAN O. JANNSEN ATTORNEYS Oct. 28, 1952 N. c. JANNSEN 2,615,305

HYDRAULIC TRANSMITTER MECHANISM Filed Dec. 23, 1946 I 2 Sl-IEETS-SI-IEET 2 xvi m1 M.

lh ll llllk 1 llliiliilll i. MIIIIIW a i a O a 57 I 5s m l 35 z i 34 i 2 I INVENTOR. NEWMAN C. JANNSEN FIG 2 M1 ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 28, 1952 UNI-TED TAT-ss- ATENT :{QEFICE I HYDRAULIGTRANSMITTEK MECHANISM Newman C.- J annsen;- Seattle; Wash. "Application December 23; 1946, Serial No. 717382? a 2" Claims. (oiifseesae) My present invention relates to the general art of steeringdevices for boats-ships, and the like, *and more particularly, to a hydraulic-transmitter mechanism.

Eversince the decline of-sa'iling ships, it has it can properly control the-course of a wheel. In the past, ropes; chains, and rods have been fthe principal connecting means between the steersing-wheeland the rudder. All such :means, however, must em'pl'oya circuitous route-passing over -a 'plurality of sheaves and, due to-their'length, a very appreciable amount of'slack invariably ocours in theassembly, =Formerly, when only rope was used, considerable diificultyxwas experienced with' the shrinking and stretching of the rope 'a due to changes'in the humidity. i This led to the adoption of chains and rods. However," such means, because of their weight,were objectionable, as the unsupported weightlb'etween sheaves tended/to cause sagging in the sielements or in .tithelactual mass, which'pro'ducedslack', and made Lfsteering tan arduous task.

" :Itsis the principal object of my'inventiomzthere- ;fore;-:to'.provide" means having little ;or no :mass,

andiwhich' can .be. adjusted so 'that' there. :is no nslackior lostrmotion between the 'steeringnwheel and the rudder post.

, A furtherobject'zof my invention'is to provide hydraulic control'means sothattheimovement of apthe steering wheel will cause a corresponding mmovement in the rudderpost;

'1" A -f,urther object of my presentiinvention is to i provide a steering arrangement whereby the means connecting the steering wheel:;and the 1 rudder post' may be in the former .a; fluidecarrying; tube; or; tubes,--so-rthat they can the: passed through: any-convenientpart:ofsthe ShiDi-Ldfid-Cfill .a'takea '1 circuitousroute, it necessary; :r and :will

operate effectively Without the employment of s-straight runsof the connecting'mea-ns'or'the re- .-sultant 'vmultiplicity-of: sheaves' so common in e every day use.

i A further object ofmy present-invention is to provide means-wherebythe fluid lines transmittingthe intelligence from the steering wheel to the rudder post may: .be constantly refilled with -fiuid and balanced'with each 'otherso that the intelligence will be accurately transmitted.

A further object of mypresent invention is to provide' means. whereby; any-ratio forv degree of r 2 m'e'chanicaladvantage can be obtained the steering wheel and the rudder post."

Other objectsandadvantages of'thisinvention will be apparent, itis believed, after a careful study of the accompanying drawings and description, or may be'readilycomprehended fromsuch study. 1 ZQReierring to vthe disclosure in the drawings:

iFig l-isan elevationalview showing the steering wheel; :its' associated mechanism, the rudder post andthe operatingme'ans employed :for shifting ;"its position;

Fig. 21s a view similarin-part. tuFiglzshow- .;1ing.1 a front elevation of the: mechanism: andv the 1 steering station; but showin the steeringwheel :itse'lffremoved with certain'zpartsin dotted outitline Orin-section;

1' Fig.3 is a verticalsectional view taken'with a cutting:planenonw line: 3+3, passing through the C9I 1l3e1"0f Fig. 2; v 'rFig;;4l is a vertical sectional view of the valve 4 cans taken: in a plane: at rightrangles' to the fishowingihFig; 3.

.7 *Referringto the drawings;thro-ughout'which like .referencecha-racters indicate like; parts, the numeral H] designates the conventional type of steering wheel of whatever form is most desired for the installation. The steering wheel is lnountedl upon shaft l2,*which in turn is jour- :naled.upon bearings Hl-and l6. 'Shaft I2 is pref- *erably provided with a positioning screw E8 in the (groove l9 cut in-shaft l2.

-r-Secured to or formed as part of shaft I2, is the 'steering wheel pinion 26. Pinion meshes nor- 7 finally-with a larger gear 'as22. Gear 22 in turn meshes with rack gears and'I25, With the gearing so arranged; 'it is possible to employ a small driving pinion 20,; so that adequate reduction or mechanical advantage is obtained and, by the use of a larger gear 2-2, racks 24 and 25 may be; spread. apart suificiently toprovide :adequate {working room .for theinecess ary associated: parts. -Geart22 is preferably disposed as an idle gear, h s dingfiup-on' shaft? Z'L'Which inlturn isifixe'dly secured in place asby the 'lock'screw 28.

te-pistonsii and*32, respectively. 'Theseipistons are-adapted forareciprocation within fluid cylinders M and respectively At their upper ends, pistons-tit and-:32 :are guided in the same unit wihichxformsa .bearing ;for the. gears, as'i38 and 3 v35.provideadequate gui'dingxzfor the'tlower por ?tions of thesepistons.

-Racks 2t and'25 areformed as part of or secured It 'will be'understoodi that cylinders-"34 and Pistons 30 and 32 are provided at their lower ends with obturating piston cups 40, which are so arranged as to provide sealing means, and thus prevent oil or other'fluid passing around the pistons and out through the packing 4| and gland 42. With the present arrangement of cups 40, very little fluid need be stopped by packing 4|. Pistons 30 and 32 are provided with longitudinal bores as 44 and 45 which communicate with cylinders 34 and 35 and terminate at the upper end with stop cocks at 4? and 48.

At their lower ends, cylinders 34 and 35 are provided with their working fluid lines 50 and which lead to the rudder control cylinders. Cylinders 34 and 35 are further provided with resupply lines 53 and 54, each of which have within them a pet cock, as 56 and 51.

Lines 53 and 54 terminate in a valve means, as will be observed in Figures 2 and 3. This valving arrangement consists of the body portion GEL-a valve 6|, having a head portion 62, the seating spring 63 and an operating crank pin 64 which is secured to gear 22. A fluid supply line 55 supplies fluid under pressure to the valve means.

The fluid service lines 50 and 5| lead from the wheel position to the rudder actuating cylinders '18 and H. These cylinders are pivoted, as at 13 and 74, to pivots which are secured to some fixed portion of the vessel. Attention is directed to the fact that lines 50 and 5| must be so connected to cylinders and II that the small oscillation of the cylinders will not damage the piping. Such arrangements are normally well known to persons accustomed to this type of work where long runs of tubing can be made and no special precautions need be taken. In some instances, .it is necessary to provide small coils adjacent the cylinders, or possibly in extreme cases some type of rotary transfer joints might be desirable.

Cylinders 10 and 1| are provided with fluid actuated pistons 76 and 71. These pistons are pivotably connected at 79 to the rudder actuating arm 80. This arm is in turn keyed to the rudder post 82. At this point special referenceis made to Fig. lji'n which it will be observed that, as arm 80 is moved in either direction from.-the medial line, the rudder 83 is similarly moved.

In order to provide against lack of fluid or air pockets in the fluid line which might cause malfunctioning of my equipment, or at least might prevent the wheel from accurately registering the position of the rudder, I have provided the resupply tank 85. This tank is normally partially filled with fluid as 86, and provision is made for an air dome as 87. The tank may be supplied with air under pressure from any convenient source, as the line carrying the valve 88. convenience and a check on the system, I provide the pressure gauge at 89.

Method, of operation When my equipment is set up initially for use, the entire system is filled with a suitable fluid,

. normally a non-compressible liquid, usually hav- Asa either direction. This will raise one piston and lower the other, as viewed in Fig. 2, and will thus cause, in this instance shown, the fluid to be forced through tube 5| to cylinder ll, forcing piston 71 to the right as viewed in Fig. 1. At the same time that piston 32 is being forced downwardly, piston 30 is being moved upwardly, and this withdraws fluid through pipe 50 from cylinder 10, thus permitting piston to be moved to the right and thus the rudder itself will move to the right as indicated';'if the wheel is turned in the reverse direction, the reversal of the entire cycle as explained above Will occur.

In new equipment, this operation can be carried out for a long period without any mal-functioning in the system. However, when the equipment becomes worn through use or is improperly adjusted by inexperienced persons, I find it desirable to provide automaticmeans for the readjustment of my system. if

In order to compensate for any loss of fluid, I have provided a re-supply means, which draws fluid under pressure from tank 85. Thi fluid is delivered through tube 65 to the valve mechanism 60. It here fills the-lower cavity 90 of the valving means and surrounds spring 63. I then provide that gear 22 be of a size so that one revolution movesracks24 and 25 throughout their entire movement. I then position-pin or crank .64 so that each time the cylinders are equi-positioned, rudder 83 is in a prolongation of the boat axis, which normally should be evidenced on the steering wheel itself, many wheels having forthispurpose a marker or'master spoke. In followingout this principle then, each time my systempasses the center line, crank pin 64 will depress valve 6| and as the head of valve 6 l as 62, is smaller in diameter than the bore of chamber 5 3; fluid will pass around the same up the dotted-in passageway 92. shown in Fig. 3, and out through theresupply tubes 53 or 54, in order to resupply those cylinders as the need may be with suficient new fluid to entirely bring them back to the'normal operating position.

This same re-supply system will function to re-supply fluid that may be expelled out through pet cocks 41 or 48 in order to test for the presence of air in the entire system. It will be noted that any such unbalancing of the system, as might be occasioned by testing either or both cylinders 34 and 35, will be corrected the next time therudder assembly passes dead center again, through the functioning of crank 64 and valve 61. .I have provided shut-off cocks 56 and 5? so thatif it; is necessary to re-supply or service tank 85; these members may be closed and the pistonwill then operate without re-supply untilthe re-supply system hasagain beenput into serviceable condition.

It is believed that it will be clearly apparent from the above description and disclosure'in the drawings that the invention comprehends a novel construction of a hydraulic transmitter mechanism. g

Having thus described my invention, Ifclaim:

l. A hydraulic transmitter mechanism in a hydraulic steering system for ships, comprising: a pair of parallelly disposed fluid cylinders; a fluid service tube-leading from each of saidfluid cylinders; pistons disposed for reciprocation synchronously in opposite directions withinsaidcyl- The system I inders; a gear rack secured to: each of said pistons; an idle gear-disposed between and 'operatively engaging said gear racks; 'a-pi' nion gear operatively engaging said idle gear; a manually v operated wheel adapted to turn said pinion gear; j

said pistons having longitudinal bores which communicate at one end with said cylinders; stop cocks on the free end of said pistons in operative connection with the other end of said longitudinal bores; a re-supply tank; a valve chamber; a valve positioned in said valve chamber with an upstanding stem and with a valve 1 head in a horizontal position; a spring in said chamber bearing on the underside of the valve head urging it upwards; a, tube leading from said re-supply tank to said chamber; said chamber having two passageways leading from above said valve head to the outside of the chamber re-supply tubes leading from said passageways" to said cylinders; a pet cock on each of said resupply tubes; and a crank pin secured to said idle gear in position to depress said valve stem when said pistons are at an intermediate position. 4

2. A hydraulic transmitter mechanism in a hydraulic steering system for ships, comprising: a pair of parallelly disposed fluid cylinders; a

' fluid service tube leading from each of said fluid cylinders; pistons disposed'for reciprocation synchronously in opposite directions within said cylinders; a gear rack secured to each of said pistons; an idle gear disposed between and operatively engaging said gear racks; a pinion gear operatively engaging said idle gear; a manually operated wheel adapted to turn said pinion gear; said pistons having longitudinal bores which said re-supply tank to said chamber; said chamher having two passageways leading from above said valve head to the outside of the chamber; re-supply tubes leading from said passageways to said cylinders; and means associated with said idle gear in position to depress said valvevstem when said pistons are at an intermediate position.

NEWMAN C. JANNSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name 7 Date 625,352 Pai'dassy May 23, 1899 986,065 Janney Mar. 7, 1911 1,213,721 Williamson Jan. 23, 1917 1,302,376 Johnston Apr. 29, 1919 1,446,261 McLeod Feb. 20, 1923 1,633,463 Sperry June 21, 1927 1,965,057 Rittenhouse July 3, 1934 2049 192 Bowen July 28, 1936 

